About

The Follies Trust is a charity and a company limited by guarantee. We have neither staff nor office. There are 11 trustees who are also directors of the company. Other people assist with advice. All act entirely in a voluntary capacity to guide and direct the trust. No one is paid for time, travel or incidental expenses so that all donations go directly towards achieving the objectives of the trust. The Follies Trust aims to encourage the appreciation and conservation of Irish follies, to promote traditional construction and building skills, and to encourage knowledge and appreciation of Ireland’s artistic and cultural heritage.

For the implementation and effective delivery of best practice conservation projects the trust employs suitably qualified conservation practitioners to provide professional advice, guidance and supervision. From time to time the trust grant aids projects initiated by other organisations, where the professional supervision is provided by practitioners appointed by those organisations.

At least 95% of funds raised by the Follies Trust is spent on conservation projects and associated educational publications.

At the Follies Trust most recent AGM in January 2023 the accounts for the year ending 31 October 2022 were presented and discussed. It was reported that it was another successful year for the Trust. In the context of some charities being criticised for having very high overheads which absorb a considerable proportion of funds raised the Follies Trustees examined the figures for the past 8 years. They are pleased to be able to report that the percentage of funds raised by the Follies Trust spent on conservation projects and associated educational publications was as follows::

Year ending 31 October 2015 – 99.3%
Year ending 31 October 2016 -95.6%
Year ending 31 October 2017 – 97.8%
Year ending 31 October 2018 – 95.3%
Year ending 31 October 2019 – 95.0%
Year ending 31 October 2020 – 99.5%
Year ending 31 October 2021 – 96.7%
Year ending 31 October 2022 – 96.1%

These remarkable figures are independently certified.

The Trust’s first project in 2010 was to conserve two Grade B+ listed mausolea in Knockbreda chruchyard, Belfast. Since then the Trust has conserved no less that 31 structures across the island of Ireland with one on site and others at the planning stage. Since the Trust’s foundation in 2006 it has produced 8 educational publications, organised many lectures in various venues around Ireland and arranged visits to a large number of Ireland’s huge stock of interesting and intriguing follies.

Total expenditure on project work and book publications since 2006 has exceeded £825,000.

The Follies Trust in the media

Read the Irish Times article about the Follies Trust

Read the London Times article about Dick’s life and work.

Read the Belfast Telegraph article about some of the work by the Follies Trust.

Read an award winning article about Irish follies published in the USA (Saturday Evening Post) by Sally Shivnan, a Professor at the University of Maryland.

FOLLIES:FRIVOLOUS OR FUNCTIONAL – for an overview of follies read this article by Iona Erskine Andrews published in Historic Buildings Council for Northern Ireland Report 2010-13.

An article in Perspective magazine on the first 10 years of The Follies Trust, May-June 2017 p.62-64, by Connie Gerrow, entitled ‘The Follies Trust: A Decade and Counting’ celebrates.

Inland Revenue Charity reference XR93693

Registered with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC101116. Company limited by guarantee:NI060272